<p>A project by Cornell University researchers promises to <b>speed up the production of potato plantlets</b> to be supplied to farmers.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Their <b>aeroponic method</b> produces <b>ten times as much new tuber growth</b> as that of potted plants. Additionally, it ramps up production of new potato varieties in the first year and gets them planted in the field quicker.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/aeroponics_body2.jpg" alt=" cropped_image_042514" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The method currently used by the industry involves growing the tiny plantlets from test tube cultures. In the first year, they are raised in greenhouses using a peat moss growing medium to produce "mini tubers," which are then grown in fields at the isolated farm for two successive years before being passed on to seed potato growers who cultivate them for another two to three years before selling them to commercial potato producers.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The new system <b>replaces the peat moss with an aeroponic system</b> which was initially developed in Peru. Potato plants are grown with their tuber-producing stems suspended in a chamber. They are <b>misted regularly with a nutrient-rich solution</b> that is recycled. The plants thrive, producing <b>dozens of mini tubers</b> over the course of <b>70-90 days</b>. When they are about the size of a quarter, they are hand-picked to be planted in the field.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/aeroponics_body1.jpg" alt=" cropped_image_042514" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"We will be able to get growers more of what growers want, in a shorter turnaround time," said Keith Perry, Associate Professor of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology at Cornell University. <b>"We will be able to get new varieties into the marketplace faster."</b><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">This new process could be of great importance to the industry, which has suffered losses due to pest problems. Potatoes that are less susceptible to the <b>devastating golden nematode pest</b> are needed, and this new method would <b>speed up development of resistant varieties</b>.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2013/12/aeroponics-boost-ny-potato-production" target="_new"> Cornell University </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
